Social Democratic and Labor Party (Egelion)
The SDLP/ Caillea Vinstri Bandalag is the oldest active social democractic party in Egelion and currently the second largest party in the Egelion Senate. Its headquarters are in Demar Solad, Amateria. Unity Party The SDLP began as the Unity Party. Formed with the aim of bridging the gap between the two parties of the time, it took an approach based on compramise and coalition building. It fought three elections and was in coalition governments with the Egelon People's Party. The party was founded in Nordland, Caille, hometown of party founder Alexander von Druck. Born in Nordland, von Druck had lived most of his life in Dul Kinea and Ghadrash. Influenced by the various political philosophies of the regions he lived in, von Druck returned to Caille to fight for political cooperation in, what he called, "the bastion of ideologues and people of a difficult nature." He soon established party headquarters in all five provinces, but was never able to make much impact in his home province of Caille. In 2819, von Druck stepped aside to allow his protege to take control of the party. Thomas O'Conner, however, had a less cooperative agenda than von Druck and took the party in a more ideological direction. This led to a new party name in 2825. Social Democratic and Labor Party The Unity Party split in 2825. The pro-business elements of the party left in protest of what they saw as an increasingly socialist stances on economic issues. It was then decided to change the party name to Social Democratic and Labor Party to reflect the new aims of the party. 2827 Election The 2827 Election saw the high point in SDLP electoral history. With the sudden collapse of the Capitalist Party of Egelion, the SDLP captured an astounding 42% of the seats in the Senate. This was the electoral peak, however, as subsequent elections saw the SDLP slide steadily in the polls due to a policy shift to the left. This was a period of great frustration for the party, as the party struggled for a unique identity. The Egelion People's Party, being more centrist than the SDLP, dominated politics due to the lack of any right-wing presence in the country. While the SDLP and EPP officially worked in coailtion governments together, in reality the SDLP had little to no say on matter of policy. This cause an internal struggle within the party. Most of the dissenters who had not left the party took the approach that the SDLP must move to the center to compete for the same votes that EPP dominated. The majority of the party, however, felt that the two parties already competed for enough votes as it was. This led Anabel Sanchez to push the party further to the left, alienating even more voters in the process. This was compounded by the fact that despite her overwhelming popularity in the party, Anabel Sanchez became continually less popular among the electorate for her rhetoric and policies. After continued declining electoral success, debate within the party arose as to who Anabel's successor would be and when a new party chair should be elected. The two main candidates were the moderate Allen Henley and Sanchez's own daughter, Maria Sanchez. Henley's politics were seen as being favorable, as his changes could have brought centrists back to the SDLP. He was seen too much as an intellectual, however, and was prone to giving long, overly detailed speeches. Maria Sanchez, on the other hand, was young, attractive and extremely charismatic. Her policies were much like her mothers, but her support among the electorate was far higher. She was also the favorite of the party elites, who had helped guide her from infancy because Maria, as she later stated, was "raised by the party." The debate was cut short, however, as Anabel succumbed to a stroke in 2846. Maria became the quick, sentimental choice and was elected party chairwoman. This almost led to yet another party split, but party insiders were able to bring the various SDLP factions back together. SDLP/ED Coalition With the electoral explosion of the Egelion Democrats, the SDLP abandoned their Egelion People's Party allies due to a public policy split. The SDLP/ED coalition was a succesful, if not imperfect, coalition and again put the SDLP into a coalition government. The coalition was an unpopular one both among party members and the public at large. To justify the odd pairing, party leaders cited the fact that it was the only viable coalition due to the refusal of the EPP to form a government with any party. In the end, little was gained or lost in the coalition. With the EPP seeing electoral gains in the subsequent election, the SDLP abandoned the ED and joined their natural allies once again in forming a government with the Egelion Leftist Party, or ELF. SDLP Presidency In the election of 2850, the SDLP, led by Maria Sanchez, was able to achieve the historic electoral victory of gaining the Egelion presidency, the first party other than the EPP (later the Christian Social People's Party or CSPP) to do so since 2811. It was in this election that the SDLP and Egelion Leftist Front (ELF) began their alliance in presidential elections. The SDLP was not able to maintain the presidency, however, missing the chance to take part in the run-off election by 1% point. During this time, Maria Sanchez's hold on the party was strengthened. While her election as party chairwoman was controversial, her consolidation of power caused much hesitation within the party. By 2854, however, the voices became too loud and Sanchez handpicked her sucessor in Franklin Goedring. Opponents of Sanchez saw this transition of power as little more than ceremonial, as Goedring was a strong supporter of Sanchez. While the SDLP was not able to repeat its success with another presidential win, the party was able to maneuver itself into its first taste of real power as Franklin Smith was awarded the position of Prime Minster in 2853. The appointment of an SDLP party member as Prime Minister helped quiet many of the concerns held by party insiders. The party had become the balance of power in the Senate as more parties entered into elections. Those who had previously questioned that coalition government with the conservative Egelion Democrats now came to see the move as well timed, as it showed that the Christian Social People's party were more dependent on the SDLP than the SDLP was on the CSPP. Caillean Revolution/ Egelion-UKSR War After the election of 2856, SDLP headquarter was bombed in the initial attack of the Caillean Revolution. Prime Minister Franklin Smith was in attendace at an SDLP post-election rally, was was Goedring. During the attack, armed gunmen attacked the two men killing the Prime Minister but leaving Goedring with minor wounds. The attack greatly affected Goedring, however. Sanchez was called into a wartime coalition as Foriegn Minister and largely became the face of the party again with Goedring working behind the scenes. The SDLP faced many great problems during the Caillean Revolution. Party members were actively targeted during ther revolution, being labeled "collaborators" by communist forces and were sent to labor camps throughout the province. After the UKSR invasion, the SDLP moved its headquarters to Demar Solad in Amateria where it remained after the war. The party, decimated during the war, was unable to form any real presence in the province after the war had ended. SDLP/ Caillea Vinstri Bandalag After the terrorit attack on party headquarters in Nordland and subsequent Egelion-UKSR War in the region, the SDLP party organization in the region was decimated. During the war, a group of anti-communist leftist formed the Caillean Left Alliance (Caille Vinstri Bandalag) to fight the communists and replace the lack of a leftist organization in the province. After the war, the SDLP formed a partnership with the CVB, with the CVB acting as the SDLP's Caillean branch while still being independant. After the merger, the SDLP/CVB's main goal was to reform Egelion. The SDLP/CVB pushed to form a new republic out of the conlfict with the UKSR, and officially pused to get Egelion renamed the Federal Republic of Egelion. Party Chairman Franscico Badaran then took up the cause of decentralization by pushing massive reforms in the Senate giving more power to the provinces to decide their own fate. This was a massive change from previous party leaders. While every leader since Thomas O'Connor had favored a strong central government, Badaran felt that local governments could be more responsive to the needs of its populace. This caused great concerns among the base as well, as the Egelion-UKSR War began on the back of an independance movement in Caille. With the fall of the Christian Socialist People's Party, a great crisis struck the SDLP/CVB. With the CSPP, the party had a longtime partner with which to work in government. The disappearance of the party means that its former voters flocked towards the authoritarian Freedom Party. In response, party chairwoman Alida Bajnai initiated her plan boldly called "The New Way Forward" and began to moderate the party's stances both socially and economically. It was at this point that the Golden Mammoth caucus began to dominate the party. While a majority of the party resisted, Bajnal's vision for the party paid off almomst immediately. The election of March 2884 proved to be a major disappointment, with the SDLP/CVB getting only 42% of the vote. By the election of November 2884, the SDLP/CVB had jumped to 45%. The next election saw a share of 47% of the vote. Party Dominance The election of 2990 saw the SDLP/CVB reach a majority for the first time in its history. Bajnai's victory was short lived, however, as she died suddenly due to heart failure in Jan 2891. Anabel Franco-Sanchez, daughter of former president Maria Sanchez, was quickly given control of the party as the SDLP/CVB won with a slightly reduced majority. Beginning with the election of 2884, the SDLP/CVB became the dominant party in Egelion reaching a super majority status. After three elections, Franco-Sanchez decided to step down in favor of her successor, Jacob Thomas. Thomas led the party to a record 83% of the vote in 2903, winning 79% of the seats. In 2905, Foriegn Minister Matías Olivo entered into negotiations with the Eerste Republiek Vanuku to lease Vanuku's colonial territories in Dovani. Initially skeptical, the party decided to go through with the agreement. The party decided that they would use the territories as an experiment to spread democracy and independence throughout colonial Dovani. With the hope of establishing strong, and irreversible, institutions in the leased lands, the SDLP/CVB decided to install full home rule in the regions after a successful election campaign in 2906. Samantha Tilley fought her first election campaign after the President Thomas decided against running for a third election. In the election, the SDLP/CVB won a complete landslide, winning 97% of the vote. Following the massive election victory, the party formally proposed its colonial plans in triumph. The electoral victory was short lifed, however, as the United Egelion Party saw a resurgence of support. Two other parties also entered into the political fray: the long dormant Partido Alessandrista Reformado and the Liberal Union. In the election of 2909, the SDLP/CVB barely achieved a second place result as the Partido Alessandrista Reformado captured the precidency and prime minister's office. General instability followed while trying to form a cabinet, prompting the dormant Christian Social People's Party to be revived itself. A snap election was called, with the SDLP/CVB seizing victory with every other party suffering losses. Newly appointed party chairwoman Eydís Aldorsdottir was forced to stand an election just months after taking office. With a similar electoral base as the CSPP, many were predicting Eydis's first election to be catastrophic. The first chair from Caille since Alexander von Druck, Eydis was able to capture not only the party's main power base in Dul Kinea, but also suprisingly captured Amateria and Eder Gira for the first time in an election with more than two parties. In 2911, with the collapse of the Liberal Union, the SDLP/CVB decided to call a snap election along with major support from the CSPP. Unfortunately for the two parties, the general public was not in favor of such an election and the two parties were through into third and fourth positions. The party was only able get get 25 seats in a reduced National Assembly of 100 seats. The SDLP/CVB, fearing a government involving the United Egelion Party/Liberal Unions (formerly Freedom Party), the SDLP/CVB made an electoral pact with the Partido Alessandrista Reformado. The two parties would, for teo elections, support each other in return for trading the positions of Prime Minister and President. While largely an unpopular move with the party's base, the party leaders reminded them of the close workings between the CSPP and SDLP that gave the party so much success early in its life. After the election of 2914, Eydis declared that the SDLP/CVB would go into a new direction. Post-war policy by the SDLP/CVB had been dominated by the issues of devolution. With the rise of new parties, however, Eydis and party leaders felt it would be best to return to its traditional social democratic roots. This moved proved to be unpopular with much of the party, namely her own CVB branch. The move to the left was deemed necessary by Eydis, however, as the SDLP/CVB was suffering at the ballot due to a lack of a distinct ideology. Eydis employed strong armed the CVB into agreeing to the platform change. The policy shift soon paid off, however, as the party was rocketed into second place. While the party was unable to win another election under Eydis, the party remained the second largest behind the CSPP. The party also maintained its position as coalition partner. More importantly, however, the party became the strongest party nationwide. While it won no provinces outright, the party also placed second or third in nearly every province. Eydis was unable to capitalize on this success, however, and stepped down as party leader before the snap election in 2928. Upon stepping down, she became the second longest serving party chair since Thomas O'Connor. The leadership race was a harshly fought battle. The major candidates were Alexander Ashfield and Jonas Erikson. Jonas, Eydis' successor in the CVB, called for a return to the party's emphasis on devolution. Ashfield, on the other hand, wanted to maintain the social democratic focus favoring a stronger central government. Ashfield barely won the contest and the party maintained its path. The faction backing Jonas, however, did not accept defeat gracefully and there were a number of calls for the CVB to abandong their alliance with the SDLP as well as other calls for splinter parties. No major defections happened, however, the the party remained nominally behind Ashfield. Internal Strife The party finally made a breakthrough in 2934. The CSPP was finally pushed from the top spot, and Alexander Ashfield won the elections of 2934 and 2937. Ashfield's hold on the party, however, was never entirely secure. Calls for Ashfield's resignation were eventually quieted by his electoral victories, but they were never silenced. Ashfield stepped down before the election of 2940 and appointed his protege Graham Fox. Fox was unpopular among a large percentage of the party membership, but was highly popular within the party establishment. Riding the momentum of Ashfield, Fox went on to win the elections of 2940 and 2943. Fox, who was born and raised in Dul Kinea, had nearly no support among the northern bases of the party. The CVB's base continued to call for a disassociation with the Social Democrats and the wing in Eder Gira, with popular support not seen since the turn of the century, were calling for more say in party policy. Fox, like his predecessors, focused on Dul Kinea, the traditional base of SDLP support. The north, however, was bringing in far more support than Dul Kinea yet was getting little attention. This tension culminated in an unexpected party revolt after the election of 2943. CVB delegates and delegates representing Eder Gira walked out of the party conference in April 2943. Both groups threatened to form an independant leftist party were their demands not met. Fox's support crumbled almost immediately as a week later he officially stated that, as president, he would not resign his position as party leader. After fierce negotiations, however, the rebellious factions agreed to return if Fox promised not to stand another election. As a concession, Fox took on the Eder Gira wing's president, László Pogány, as Deputy Party Leader. Pogány was given majority control of the party and was unoffically crowned as Fox's successor. Party Structure The SDLP has a largely decentralized party structure. The Eder Giran and Amaterian branches of the party were pre-existing organizations and as such were allowed to maintain their own party structures. The Caillean branch was the dominant branch due to it being the original branch, but was disbanded following the Egelion-UKSR War. After the partnership with the Caille Vinstri Bandalag, the SDLP made it official party policy to promote the local languages of the provinces and changed the party names to reflect this. Partido Socialdemócrata y Laborista de Amateria Formerly the Unity Party of Amateria and the Social Democratic and Labour Party of Amateria. The branch was formed by Anabel Sanchez in 2809 and was absorbed by the Unity Party to expand its power base. The branch has seen moderate success but the party never won the province until 2894. Partido Socialdemócrata y Laborista de Dul Kinea Formerly the Unity Party of Dul Kinea and the Social Democratic and Labour Party of Dul Kinea. The branch was the second founded by Alexander con Druck. While Dul Kinea was the center of most Egelian governmental institution, von Druck decided to base his party in Caille instead. This has not prevented this branch of the party to be by far the most successful, bring the SDLP its first provincial win in 2823. The party fared poorly in the province until 2853 where it ruled until 2871. Szociáldemokrata és Munkáspárt Eder Girazág Formerly the Unity Party of Eder Gira and the Social Democratic and Labour Party of Eder Gira. The branch was originally a socialist organization in Eder Gira founded by Thomas O'Connor. Since its founding, the branch has been the second largest party in the province, with few exceptions. The party began to make large inroads in the province during the SDLP dominance at the end of the 23rd century and beginning of the 24th. Eventually, this branch the party became the most successful, but was still treated as a lesser branch. This resulted in the branch's walking out of the party conference in 2943, returning only after the branch's leader was appointed successor to the party chairmanship. Szociáldemokrata és Munkáspárt Ghadrashzág Formerly the Unity Party of Ghardrash and the Social Democratic and Labour Party of Ghadrash. The branch has seen moderate success but has never won a provincial election. After the collapse of the CSPP, Ghadrash remained the bastion of opposition to the SDLP/CVB due to the parties pacifist leanings. Social Democratic and Labor Party of Caille Formerly the Unity Party of Caille, the now defunct branch of the SDLP was the original branch of the party as founded by Alexander von Druck. The branch's position tended to be fairly moderate, contesting elections in the most conservative province in Egelion. The branch won one election in the province in 2835. After the Egelion-UKSR, the branch was closed down and the SDLP headquarters was moved to Domar Solad. Caillea Vinstri Bandalag The Caillea Vinstri Bandalag (Caillean Left Alliance) was formed independantly during the Egelion-UKSR War. The party filled the gap left by the folding of the SDLP in the region. The SDLP was unwilling to reintroduce itself into the region and instead allied itself with the CVB. While the CVB is an independant party with its own power structure, for national elections it runs in tandem with the SDLP. The SDLP runs no candidates in the region and includes the CVB in its coalition consideration and in turn the CVB agrees to vote with the SDLP in all national matters. The CVB's relationship with the national party is often tense. Many in the SDLP feel that the CVB is given far too much influence in national policy. The appointment of Eydis Aldorsdottir and her subsequent success in elections helped quiet many of the conflicts between the two parties, but her departure reopened old rifts. This culminated in the CVB walkout in the SDLP/CVB party convention in 2943. The party soon returned to the alliance after their demands were met, however. Party Factions Golden Mammoths A pro-economic group, it is the reminants of the caucus that split from the party in 2825. The Mammoths tend to favor greater cooperation with the EPP/CSPP. They are mainly a business related faction, taking no real stance on any other issues. After the collapse of the Christian Social People's Party, a push for moderation brought the faction to the forefront of party policy. Connorites The most dominant faction in the SDLP, Connorites are more left-wing than the Mammoths or Drukites. All party leaders of the SDLP have shared the ideals of Thomas O'Connor. Unlike the Mammoths, the Connorites prefer to work alone, although they have agreed to work with other parties in coalitions. After the attack on SDLP headquarters in Nordland, many of the top figures of the Connerite camp were either killed or seriously wounded and withdrew from politics. The party then rallied around Maria Sanchez forming what they called the "Sanchez Caucus." Although denounced by its namesake, following the Egelion-UKSR War the Sachez Caucus became a major force in the party. Sanchez Caucus While the Connorites believed strongly in pacifist policies, the new caucus latched onto the firey rhetoric of Maria Sanchez and called for strengthening Egelion's military to prevent another communist attack from being possible. While denounced by other groups in the SDLP (and Maria Sanchez herself), the Sanchez Caucus nonetheless finds support among voters. The caucus is less concerned with social and economic issues and is more concerned with national defense and military issues. Druckites The Druckites were a faction that voiced their objections to Connerism, but never left the party the way the Mammoths did. They prefer to return to von Druck's vision for the party. The Druckites are a smaller faction than the Mammoths, but tend to have more influence. Franklin Smith, the Prime Minister of Egelion, is a former Connorite who has taken to the Druckite cause. The Druckites were the main source of anti-Sanchez sentiments, feeling that the mother-daughter duo had taken too much control in the party. The group managed to get their first member elected as Party Chairman with Franscico Badaran. Caillea Vinstri Bandalag The Caillean branch of the party, the Caille Vinstri Bandalag is an independant party that runs candidates in national elections with the SDLP. The Caille Vinstri Bandalag tends to be socially more conservative than the SDLP, but economically they tend to be further to the left promoting democratic socialist policies. The group also strongly in favor of promoting local culture, traditional languages and devolution of power, denouncing the "sanitized and fake Egelion identity that has destroyed the original identity of our nation." They have symbolically taken the former headquarters of the SDLP as their own. The group made an immediate impact on the SDLP by getting the CVB President Carl Handricksson nominated and elected as Prime Minister of Egelion. Party Leaders Presidents *Maria Sanchez: (2850 - 2853) *Alida Bajnai: (2890-2891) *Anabel Franco-Sanchez: (2891-2900) *Jacob Thomas: (2900 - 2906) *Samantha Tilley: (2906 - 2909) *Eydís Aldorsdottir: (2910 - 2911) *Alexander Ashfield: (2934 - 2940) *Graham Fox: (2940 - ) Prime Ministers *Franklin Smith: (2853 - 2856) *Carl Handricksson: (2872 - 2884) *Anabel Franco-Sanchez: (2890-2891) *Warren Allen: (2991-2903) *Umeko Mori: (2904 - 2909) *Stanley Marshall: (2911 - 13) Unity Party *Alexander von Druck: (2812 - 2819) *Thomas O'Connor: (2819 - 2825) Social Democratic and Labor Party *Thomas O'Connor (2825-2838) *Anabel Sanchez: (2838 - 2846) *Maria Sanchez: (2846 - 2854) *Franklin Goedring: (2854 - 2870) SDLP/ Caillea Vinstri Bandalag *Fransisco Badaran: (2870 - 2878) *Alida Bajnai: (2878 - 2891) *Anabel Franco-Sanchez: (2891 - 2900) *Jacob Thomas: (2900 - 2906) *Samantha Tilley: (2906 - 2910) *Eydís Aldorsdottir: (2910 - 2928) *Alexander Ashfield: (2828-2840) *Graham Fox: (2840 - ) Category:Political parties in Egelion